


Running to the Sea

by transmaxirl (paigebomb)



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff and Angst, More people with abilities than Max, No Dark Room, No Storm, Rachel Amber alive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-06-09 21:57:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6924991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paigebomb/pseuds/transmaxirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max finds someone else with the ability to time travel late one night on the internet. Ecstatic out of her mind, she discusses her own experiences with this apparent stranger, even learning they live in her area. It seems strange to her at first, but she has absolutely no idea what she's in for...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Fateful Night

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first ever work of fan fiction writing. Ever. I have been a journalist before, writing about music for various websites, but I have never done fan fiction and I've never finished a single one of my fiction projects. That being said, this feels kinda different. I already have these characters fleshed out in my head because I already know who they are and what their motivations are. So this is my first true foray on fiction writing. I hope you enjoy!

It was a calm night for Arcadia Bay. The last few nights had been incredibly rainy, the wind incredibly loud against the windows of the dorms. Max hadn’t slept well for nights, so this calm night was essentially lulling her to sleep right where she sat. _There is no way I get homework done this way_ , Max thought to herself as she closed the tab where she was writing her essay. She quickly opened up another tab though, and began exploring the internet. This was all she was doing those nights she couldn’t sleep. Attempting to learn more about her new ability, attempting to learn the ramifications of it, and then passing out at her desk when she was too exhausted to continue. It was a cycle, day after day, that Max repeated almost without fail at this point.

The worst part of it all was she was just finding the same old links every time she searched. Every single time, nothing new in the forums, no new breakouts in the science of it, just mostly the articles that Warren had already linked her. She knew about the search filters on most search engines and, out of boredom, she only allowed results from the last 24 hours. _There will be no results, I already know it_ , she silently presumed in her head, _but why not?_   She clicked the filter button and waited for the page to refresh. To her surprise, there was a result. A single result: “ _Help, I don’t know what’s going on.”_

Confused and slightly intrigued, she clicked the link and it took her to a forum she already knew. It was all about paranormal occurrences, she had considered posting about her situation on the forum herself, but she never did. She didn’t want to be considered a freak or have people hunt her down and use her ability to their own benefit. Warren had linked her the site reluctantly, saying that he wasn’t very sure how accurate their information was, plus the fact that it was barely related to the concept of time travel anyways, not very useful for the “paper” she told him she needed the sources for.

In all her reminiscing, the page had loaded. Max scrolled down to the main text of the post and read in her head.

“ _Dear whoever’s reading this,_

_Hello, you don’t know me and I don’t want you to know me. I just need help with something that has come up recently in my life. I had no idea where to look, so I just asked this nerdy kid in my history class. He told me this wasn’t the first person who had asked him for information on this stuff, but I didn’t really care. Anyways, there have been some strange things happening in my life recently. I don’t know exactly how to explain it but I guess this is it._

_I can time travel…”_

Max stopped reading there. She couldn’t believe it. She wasn’t alone. She wasn’t the only person who could time travel. She felt her heart jump into her throat with excitement. She had been isolated before, only really able to tell Chloe about her ability, but now she had someone who understood. She wanted to read the rest of it, but her mind was so giddy and floaty, she had to spend a few minutes just calming down. After taking some time to herself, calming down, Max went back to reading the post with a new anticipation.

“ _I can time travel. I know, some of you might think that I’m crazy for saying this. But I promise, I thought I was crazy too. But I swear that I can. The only time where I know for a fact that I did it was in my math class earlier today. The teacher was boring, the lecture was unnecessary, and I had to at least act like I was paying attention. I already knew most of what she was talking about so I was entirely waiting for her to ask a question so I could answer it. She just kept rambling, so I started fidgeting with my pencil. Low and behold, it flew out of my hand, but when I reached out to catch it: it happened. Time started going backwards. Slowly at first, but progressively faster and faster. I was so confused that in the moment I just dropped my arm, causing the reversing to stop._

_It was crazy. It was like I never even got my pencil out of my bag to even act like I was taking notes. It was genuinely five minutes earlier in the lesson and I had no idea how to react. I just sat there stunned and it was clear my teacher noticed. I promptly asked her if I could go to the restroom after this incident and I just sat there for a few minutes, deciding whether I should test it again. How would I even test it again? I couldn’t go for anything too blatant, especially if it didn’t work._

_So this is me, asking first, has this happened for anyone else? I can’t imagine I’m the only one this has happened to. Is this a case of Déjà vu? Is this me losing my mind? And if it isn’t, how would I even go about testing it again? Am I the only one that remembers things from before I rewind time? HELP ME UNDERSTAND!!!!”_

The post ended there, it seemed and not a single person had replied. Max was half tempted to ignore it, but curiosity got the better of her as she typed out her reply, possibly a bit too enthusiastically:

_“Hello! Oh my god hello! I know you don’t know me, but you and me both have a thing in common. We both can do this! I know it sounds crazy, but believe me, I’ve tested it out plenty of times. Even saved someone’s life with it once. It was pretty crazy. I just wanted to tell you that you are not losing your mind, you are not going insane and there is someone out there like you. Even if it feels like a lost cause, there is at least one other person who can rewind time like you.”_

Even with her excitement, Max attempted to stay composed, but that flew out the window every time the stranger replied. The replies came rather quickly, too. It was almost like this person had been waiting for someone to reply all day. Max and the stranger chatted back and forth for about an hour before she realized something. The stranger’s account had a location. That location was Arcadia Bay. The stranger was in her town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the first chapter! Not much too it, kinda vague, trying to flesh out the plot a little bit, the end may have been a tiny bit rushed, but overall, I really liked the chapter and I am really enjoying writing this story. I decided to post this chapter right as it got finished, but I'm gonna keep working on the next few chapters for you guys, hopefully I decide an update schedule for this, but for right now, think of it as a weekly thing, especially with me having a new job soon among various other exciting things. Ta-ta for now!


	2. The Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I want to thank you all for being really supportive! This is the first time I've really felt some serious headway coming together with my fiction writing. I am so used to mostly writing reviews and editorials for music related things, so I guarantee there will probably be some of that sprinkled into here, just because I can't help myself. In other news, my editor has finally signed up to ao3 and will likely be added sometime soon as a co-author on this story. She's a lot more knowledgeable with writing fiction than I am, and she and I worked on this chapter, getting the dialogue to feel more natural, but in the end, I suck at dialogue. At the bottom of the chapter, there is news about the updated schedule and a bunch of rambling that isn't related to the story. I hope you enjoy!

Max couldn’t think straight. _Was that always there,_ she quizzed herself, testing herself mentally to remember. Even with the most brain power she could muster, her tired and frazzled mind couldn’t pull up a firm answer if it had been. _2:39 am_ read her phone screen as she checked the time. _Wow, it’s really late_ , Max thought to herself, not realizing she said it out loud as well. Feeling defeated, Max turned her phone off and closed up her laptop, trying to get ready for bed for the night. _Tomorrow’s gonna be an interesting day_ , were her last thoughts before she drifted off to sleep.

7:30 came far too early. Max sat up with bleary eyes, the alarm on her phone an assault on the senses. She quickly jabbed her screen to get the alarm to shut off before rubbing her eyes and letting out a loud and pained yawn. Max was barely even up before texts started bombarding her phone. As much as she loved _Do Not Disturb_ mode on her phone, she absolutely hated everything that came after it shut off. Typically it was ten to twenty texts from Chloe and Rachel bunched together in a short period of time, almost like a second alarm, but a lot more effective. Max jolted out of bed and grabbed her phone, checking her texts. _7 from Rachel, 12 from Chloe, oooohhh looks like Chloe beat you this time, Rach_ , Max thought, walking across the room to her closet. She sent them both good morning texts, the only way she’d get them to stop blowing up her phone, before opening up her closet.

Glancing at all the clothes in her closet, Max grabs a flannel and a pair of jeans. It’s not like she was going to be doing anything important today. She looked back over at her laptop, almost longingly. She wanted to message the stranger, apologize for sleeping, see if they could meet, something, anything! But she resisted the urge. She got changed quickly, almost tripping over herself as she put her pants on. _It’s gonna be one of those days_ , she silently grunted to no one in particular. Grabbing up her phone and bag, she turned to leave the room and meet up with Rachel and Chloe like she did every day. She opened the door, but something didn’t quite feel right. She sat down at her computer and opened it up. It was still on the tab from last night.

Max refreshed the page, looking to see if the stranger left another comment or gave her a message. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was expecting, but she was expecting something. And she was right, she had two notifications on the site. One comment alert and one message alert. _That’s strange, what couldn’t they say in the comment_ , Max quipped to herself, opening the message after skimming over the comment. The comment itself wasn’t anything important, just the stranger talking about how it felt to rewind time, which summed up most of the comment thread. Looking at the message, Max realized why the stranger had messaged her instead of commenting.

“ _Hi._

_Listen, I don’t know you right now, but I think we need to talk. In person, not just over the internet. I’m really stressing out over this and I could use someone to talk to. Your profile said you were in the Arcadia Bay area, I’m around there too. Listen, would you be willing to meet me at the beaches around 6 tonight? I’ll even give you my number and everything, just please. I need someone to talk to about this. It’s scaring me and I don’t know what to do. I’m trusting you with where I will be tomorrow. Come alone. I’m just scared and you seem to know more about this than me.”_

The message ended with a number which the stranger said Max could text. It was the same area code as Chloe and Rachel’s, so it checked out that they are at least from the area. She looked pensively at her screen, deciding whether or not to reply. What would she even say? Yes? That would easily leave her open to some sort of attack if this was a predator. That being said, this would be one hell of a setup just on the off chance this person got someone’s attention. No? Then Max would seem like an asshole, not understanding the stranger’s problems or helping them in a time of need. Did she even put her location on the profile she was using? She checked the profile information, and sure enough, she did put she lived in Arcadia Bay. She was really regretting doing that now. After a solid 5 minutes of deliberating, Max decided she should just accept the stranger’s offer. She put Chloe and Rachel onto speed dial and then texted the number:

_“Hi, I got your message. I’m okay with meeting you at the beaches. But same rules apply to you, no bringing anyone.”_

Max got up from her computer and shut it. _Did I make the right decision? Did I make the wrong one?_ Thoughts were rushing through her head like a tornado, every other thought was destroyed in its wake. It wasn’t like she didn’t do dangerous things before. Her adventures with Chloe and Rachel would argue much to the contrary. But this was the first time she was doing something this dangerous. She had no idea who this person was or if she could trust them. Lost in thought, Max left her dorm, on her way to meet with Chloe and Rachel finally. It took a text to wake her from a daze. _2 from Chloe, a text from Rachel asking if I’m okay and,_ she gasped, _a text from the stranger_.

_“Didn’t plan on it. Just don’t be late or keep me waiting.”_

She shot back a quick okay. _Should have I have said something else,_ she wondered as she made her way to her best friends, _should I have told them how uncomfortable I was with the situation?_ Max decided to compartmentalize it for now. She could always deal with it later, not now. She just wanted to get to her best friends and tell them the exciting news. She reached the courtyard quickly, and immediately, both Rachel and Chloe noticed her, waving at her and Chloe impatiently calling Max her way. Max launched into something that barely would have passed for a run and gave Chloe a hug. Rachel came around and gave the two a big hug.

“Hey girl, what’s the scoop?” Chloe said, very curious. She was always pretty good about figuring out when Max something on her mind.

“First, question. You’ve told her, right?” Max quipped back. Chloe nodded, which led to Max rolling her eyes and gently punching Chloe in the arm. “I told you not to tell anyone!”

“Well, she’s not just anyone!” Chloe faked rubbing her arm in pain, unable to hold back a giggle in her voice.

Max ignored her and returned back to what she planned to talk about, “Well anyways, I found someone else who can control time.”

“No shit! That’s fucking awesome,” Chloe exclaimed, drawing some attention from the surrounding crowds that died down pretty quickly.

Rachel put her hands on Chloe shoulder’s and giggled to herself, “Relax, Priceless, the whole school’s gonna know if you don’t quiet down.”

“Fuck the school. Anyways, Max, are you for fucking real?” Chloe questioned her friend, eyeing her up as she answered.

Max nodded, “Yeah, believe me, I’m just as surprised as you are.”

“That’s great! Where do they live? I’ll drive you right there, you gotta meet them!”

“That’s the thing...” Max rubbed the back of her neck nervously, not exactly sure how to say what she needed to say, “The person lives in Arcadia Bay. They want to meet me today. At 6. I don’t know what to do.”

“Here’s my advice, Max,” Rachel chimed in with her graceful voice, grabbing Max’s hands and holding them in her own, “Do what you are comfortable with, but understand that this may be your only chance to meet someone who has a gift like you.”

And with that, the bell for class rang. All the girls gave each other hugs and good lucks with their days, but what Rachel said was still lingering in Max’s mind. _She’s right_ , _this may be the only chance I have to meet someone who can do what I do_ , she contemplated, heading to class. Max was lost in her own thoughts, entirely for all of her first period class. She knew Warren was there and probably taking good notes that he’d let her borrow, if she needed them. She didn’t know what to do about the stranger, about her ability, about pretty much anything. But she knew something. She was going to meet the stranger today. She had to. She had to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! The news section I guess. Let's start with the update schedule. Update schedule is set, I'm going to be updating twice weekly, hopefully until this has a substantial amount of chapters up (think around 10-ish), then moving my updates to once weekly. If that proves too much for me, I will likely whack it down to just once a week updates. I've had a bit of writer's block, but I still sorta have an idea of where I want this to go, it's just caught in the traffic jam that is my mind. I am hoping to write up a few more chapters today. Also, I now am officially employed at where I was offered a job, therefore I may only have time to write on Sundays, or after work. I will try to post updates before I go to work though, because posting late night updates causes them to get easily lost. Also, I am trying to gather all my ideas for other, shorter, one shot-esque fic ideas and possibly get started on a few of those, just to get my creativity flowing.
> 
> So in the end, a lot of things are happening, and I really hope that I can keep this update schedule. Ta-ta for now!


	3. The Curtain Falls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say I hate naming these chapters? I am absolutely awful at naming things. Anyways, I'd like to apologize for this update being a day late. I meant to get it out yesterday, but some life circumstances popped up and I forgot about it. My apologies. Also this chapter is exciting! I really like this chapter, if I do say so myself. 
> 
> I am getting a bit more confident with my writing and it's definitely with the help of you guys. 48 kudos, at last I checked. That's insane! Thank you guys so very much! I kinda just put this out there as my first attempt at fiction writing and it's so awesome to see that so many people like it! You guys keep me excited to get writing on this, all the time! I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter in Max's story.

Max couldn’t tell if the day was moving incredibly fast or mind numbingly slow. At times, everything around her felt like it was going at hyper speed and she wasn’t able to catch up with any of it. But in other case, the minutes just felt like they dragged on for hours on end. It was a weird feeling, but Max didn’t notice most of it. She was stuck in her head for most of the time anyways. Thinking about the stranger, thinking about her ability, thinking, thinking, thinking.

“MAX!,” yelled out Mr. Jefferson, attempting his hardest to pull Max from her daze and pull her attention towards his lesson, “I asked you a question, for the love of god, can you please answer it?”

Max gently rubbed the back of her neck, her little nervous tick that she always did. _Was he trying to get my attention for long?_ , she thought to herself nervously. “Uh… could you repeat the question again?,” Max said timidly.

“Never mind,” Mr. Jefferson sounded agitated, and rightfully so, “but you and I are having a chat after class. Do anyone else-“

Jefferson’s voice drifted off in Max’s head as she returned to her thoughts. Looking out the window, she caught views of the beautiful day out. Not a single cloud in sight, which was a rare occasion in the past week. It had been pouring rain for the last five days straight, almost and you could tell. Wherever you walked in the town, there was the faint smell of the rain still hanging in the air. It was almost an overwhelming feeling of positivity that crept through the windows with the light.

Max gazed back into the classroom, looking around at her classmates. Kate was buried in her notes, not something that was common, but for her, it makes sense. She’s the type to need that visual representation of the words. It helps her understand the material more. Max studied with her a few times and Kate always pulled out her notes. _She’s probably doing better in her classes than I am, maybe I should learn from her_ , Max mentally chimed in, pulling out one of her notebooks. She probably wasn’t going to take notes, but it helps her look busier.

Max’s attention drifted over to Victoria. _The queen bitch of Blackwell_ , she thought to herself doodling in her notebook. Victoria had never been very fond of Max and she made it very clear whenever Max tried talking to her. Between insults about her choice of clothes to antagonizing Max about her taking selfies, it’s a safe bet to say that Victoria had no interest in being friends. Max sighed lightly. It’s not like she wanted to be a part of the popular crowd, but it would have been nice not to be hated for being yourself.

Still, Max felt for the blonde. Victoria looked absolutely exhausted and ready to fall asleep on the spot. With how dark the room was, it was surprisingly that she wasn’t asleep already from how tired she looked. _I wonder what kept her up last night,_ Max pondered to herself as she looked on. Just looking at Victoria was starting to make her tired again. Victoria sat up straight, very suddenly, and shot Max a glare.

It was almost like Victoria knew she was staring at her. Max was mortified by the glare, feeling her blood go cold, but she couldn’t look away. _Why would she be so tired,_ Max thought to herself, mildly perplexed. Victoria was never the type to stay up late like Max was. She normally was quiet by 11, except on party nights. Max finally was able to pull her gaze away from Victoria, who had long since looked away. _It’s not like her to be tired, she always seems so organized and awake_ , Max was starting to get lost in her thoughts again.

The bell rang to end the class, and the students started packing up, despite Jefferson’s fervent protests. Max began packing up her stuff into her camera bag. It was a small little bag, but it fit her notebook, her camera, and pretty much everything else that she needed. She threw her bag over her shoulder as she got up from her chair. _Let’s just hope Jefferson forgot he wanted to talk to me…_ , Max thought, as she attempted to make her exit from the classroom.

“Max Caulfield, where do you think you’re going?” _Dammit._

“Sorry, Mr. Jefferson,” Max mumbled out, “I had forgot you wanted to talk to me.”

“Come here,” Jefferson ordered, a bit harsh in his tone, obviously not fooled by the ruse. Max walked back over to Jefferson’s desk. “Max, you can’t keep zoning out in my class. I understand I’m not the most interesting teacher in the world, but I am still your teacher and I need you to pay attention to my lessons. You have a gift. You are special. You could be someone in this business, but you need to learn you aren’t infallible.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Jefferson, I won’t let it happen again.”

“You better not,” Jefferson quipped, but then changed his tone to a much gentler one, “and if you ever need to talk, my door is always open.”

Max nodded and quickly left. She didn’t know what it was, but something about what he said was really off putting and slightly creepy. _You have a gift, you are special, what did he mean by that_ , Max floated these thoughts in her head as she made her way to her dorm. She had about three hours before she had to meet the stranger and the bus would take her to the beach in about ten to fifteen minutes. She had some time to kill.

Falling into her bed, Max grabbed her phone out of her back pocket, checking it for message. Today was really strange, because she didn’t really check her phone all that much. Sure, a glance here and there but never really that much. _Let’s see…_ , she mused as she read her notifications, _3 from Chloe. That’s less than usual. 6 from Rachel. Mostly checking if I’m alright. And…one from the stranger…_ Max could feel her heart racing. _Why did they text me? I thought everything was set up._ She opened up the message, reading over it quick:

_“Just wanted to make sure the rules are clear, no bringing anyone. You alone.”_

_Jesus they are pushy about this,_ Max thought as she tapped her confirming reply to the stranger. Max was still really uncertain about all of this. It just seemed so out of the blue. How many people were getting these abilities? It didn’t seem like a common thing because she could still find almost nothing about it. Max got her from her bed and sat at her computer. It’s not like she was going to do anything but sit there and research for an hour or so, but she just needed to look.

After about two hours mindlessly browsing the same sites she’s read over time and time again, Max was exhausted and mildly irritated. She couldn’t find anything. Not even any new comments on the post that she stumbled across. It was just the same stuff as usual. Max got up from the computer, not sure what else to do besides make her way to the bus. She had to get to the beach somehow and it’s not like Chloe could take her in this case. She knew if Chloe took her that she’d want to stay and Max could have that happen. _No bringing anyone, come alone,_ the words echoed over and over in Max’s head.

The bus stop was close to the school, which was nice for a change. As much as Max liked walking, this was not the time for it. She was nervous as hell and visibly shaking. If she knew better, she would have thought she didn’t want to go through with this. She just wanted to go back to her dorm room and act like none of this ever happened. Maybe she’d be happier that way. Maybe she’d live a more normal life if she did that. But she had made a promise to meet this stranger, and if Max is one thing, she’s a person who keeps her word.

The bus came right on time. Max glanced at her phone to check to make sure she wouldn’t be late. _5:40 pm, perfect, just enough time_ , Max thought to herself as she found her seat. It’s not like she hadn’t rode this bus late before, half the time she took the bus late to Chloe’s house to chill with her and Rachel and then they drove her back to the campus. But this time it felt different. She wasn’t going to see her best friends. She was going to see someone she had never met before, and the thought scared her. Max just put on her headphones and looked out the window at the city flying by. It’s all she could do for now.

Her stop came quickly and she thanked the busdriver while getting off the bus. Max surveyed the area around her. There was a few parked cars around, but not many. It was getting late and the sunset crowd wasn’t coming for another hour or so. She started making her way to the beach, grabbing her phone and asking the stranger where they were. When she got to the parking lot of the beach, her phone buzzed. _I’m next to my car, get here soon_ , the text read in no uncertain terms. Max turned around to the few cars parked up and she found one person standing there. She audibly gasped as she took in who the “stranger” was. _It was no stranger…It was Victoria._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so that should be the end of the really punchy chapter endings. I was kinda using those for emphasis and to keep people trying to come back to the story. Now that I have a more definite route of where everything is going (I planned it all out, I never do that!), I am a bit more confident at leaving it at a lull rather than a high. It will probably end up making everything flow just a bit better. 
> 
> Also, quick side note, I am definitely going to be going back and maybe making small edits to chapters kinda based on recommendations from my editor person/good friend. They might not have consistent internet for 3 weeks, so yeah, all of the content I am writing for the next few chapters will most likely be a bit rougher around the edges, but not by much. I try to make everything pretty polished before anything else.
> 
> Another side note, Victoria is going to be ooc at some point in the fic. Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna write her as close to character as I can, but there comes a time where you gotta let your headcanon take over, especially with the more rude or bitchy characters. So expect that at some point in the fic. Just putting that warning ahead of time.


	4. The Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly dialogue. I'm very sorry if some of it doesn't come off as well, it's been a little bit since I played the game so I'm going to admit the dialogue between characters won't always be the best thing in the world. I am trying my hardest to get everything right and nail the feel of each character and it's kinda hard to do that when you don't have access to the game and most of the YouTubers that played it didn't make exactly the same decisions as you, meaning dialogue slightly differs at times. I'm trying to get my hands on the game I swear and once that happens, I'm going to run through and edit up the dialogue, I promise.
> 
> Also, I apologize for the late upload, I was busy all of yesterday and didn't really have the chapter finished either. Also I have added my editor as my co-author so that they can make edits to things that get published and also so they get recognized for their work on this.

“The fuck do you want, Caulfield?,” Victoria snapped at Max, a vicious snarl in her voice. The voice was like venom; it could kill you with a single drop. Max felt her entire body tense up from hearing it, scared to reply. Scared to even move. “Well, I’m waiting, what do you fucking want, you twee hipster bitch?,” Victoria’s tone somehow got harsher than before.

Max recoiled at the last four words. _Ouch,_ Max thought to herself, trying to regain her confidence in the situation. “I got a message,” Max started to say before she was cut off.

“From who?”

“Not sure, it was on this site that I look at sometimes,” Max said with no confidence at all. “They gave me their number and told me to meet them here.”

Max watched as all the color drained from Victoria’s face. She looked flustered, scared, and most of all, she looked human, almost vulnerable. “Who the fuck set you up to this? Was it that Chloe bitch or her whore of a girlfriend?,” Victoria seethed, looking absolutely furious once she regained herself.

“No one. I swear.” Max replied about as calmly as she could as she looked for a way out of this situation. She thought back to the texts and yelled out, “Check my phone! Look.” Max tossed Victoria her phone. A bit startled by it, Victoria barely caught the phone. The look on her face returned to one of shock and fear.

“I swear I’m not punking you, Victoria,” Max started as she slowly walked towards Victoria. She could feel the sweat trickling down her face. It was a cold sweat, one built on the foundation of fear she had right now. She had no idea who she was meeting in the first place, and looking at the person she thought of as a stranger only a few minutes ago, she wished their interactions had stayed anonymous. Victoria was too busy looking through the phone and comparing texts to notice Max making her way towards her or even talking to her.

 _Maybe I should just rewind to getting off the bus,_ Max pondered. Something inside her knew she had to do this, she made a promise, but she still didn’t want to do. Just as Max was about two arms reach away from Victoria, a quiet _“Stop”_ rang out from the silence. She stopped dead in her tracks as Victoria tossed her phone back to her. “We aren’t friends,” Victoria started to say with little confidence, but as she talked her confidence built, “but I need your help understanding this. I need to understand what’s going on.”

“You and me both,” Max quipped back, before realizing it. Victoria shot the girl a deadly stare, before gazing off into the distance, speaking up, “So you know about as much of this thing as I do.”

“No, I know more than you think, that doesn’t mean I understand it.”

“Listen, if you’re gonna talk in bullshit,” Victoria ripped out savagely, verbally pouncing on a prone Max, “I will leave. We can forget this ever even happened and we can live our lives. Or we could try to learn from each other, even if it’s the most pointless bullshit.”

Max nodded, not quite sure how to respond to Victoria. This is the nicest she’s been to her in, well, ever. Even if her tone was about as vicious as a rabid dog, she just offered to help her understand her ability, even though she doesn’t understand it herself. As much as she’d like to decline, Victoria’s just as lost as she is and they both just want to understand what’s going on.

Max downed her pride and offered an open hand for a handshake, “Deal.” Victoria shook her hand and gave her a deathly glare, still one of utter disbelief. Victoria spoke after an awkward minute or two of silence, “Caulfield, no whimsy shit when you’re around me, understand? This is entirely business.”

Max nodded her head, not quite understanding what she meant, but not really wanting to upset the Queen Bitch of Blackwell. The air stood still for another three or so minutes before Victoria was the first one to speak up, “Hello? Earth to Caulfield? Remember what we’re actually here to do?”

Max was broken from her silent trance, looking timidly at Victoria. She was imposing to say the least. The height difference was small, but it was there and it made her even more intimidating to look at. Not to mention the look on her face was that of fury. _Had she been trying to get my attention for long? I was completely zoned. Why does this keep happening?_   Max thought to herself, her thoughts a jumbled mess. She didn’t even know how to reply or anything before she got an idea. “Victoria, we’re in the same area, test your rewind.”

Victoria seemed confused, “I already did Caulfield. You said this.”

Max thought back to see if she had said that before, but she couldn’t remember doing it. “I guess that answers that question,” Max said, feeling a bit defeated.

“You never explained why you had me do that, Caulfield.”

Max nodded, trying to act like she knew what Victoria was talking about. “I guess I asked that to see if I’d be aware if you were rewinding time. I guess I’m not.”

Victoria squinted at the smaller girl. Max had no idea what Victoria was thinking, but her face showed a mild glint of approval. It was gone within a second, but it was still there. _What is going on? Is Victoria actually impressed with me?_   Max rushed through her head entirely perplexed by what was happening. Max was just about to speak up before Victoria cut her off. “Not a bad idea. Actually do it for me too. I’m curious.”

Max nodded and she focused all her energy to rewinding. It started slowly as it always did. Time slowly began happening in reverse. She could hear Victoria talking, but everything she was saying was moving backwards. She couldn’t keep this up for long. _Just until before she says something about it,_ Max thinks to herself as she feels the pace of the rewind picking up a little. The look of worry on her face was genuine. It was gonna be a bit harder to time now. She stopped rewinding at the first silence she heard. She felt a bit disoriented at first, but she was able to steady herself pretty quickly.

“Max, I felt that…,” Victoria seemed genuinely shocked and it showed. This was the first time that she had used Max’s first name all night. Max wasn’t sure if it was fear that caused it or something else, but it felt strangely nice. Almost like a bonding moment, but not too long after, Victoria returned to her stoic self. “So I get caught in your rewinds, but you don’t get caught in mine. What the fuck?”

Max simply nodded, too caught in her own thoughts. Victoria kept showing this more vulnerable side to her, but it faded so quickly that it was hard to ever comment about it. Why did it keep happening? Max had so many questions for Victoria and none of them were going to be answered. _Victoria wasn’t the type to open herself up, especially not to someone like me,_ Max quietly pondered, not realizing she said it out loud, loud enough for Victoria to hear.

Victoria’s expression turned to one of disgust quickly as she fired back, “Listen here, you hipster scum, I don’t know what you meant by that, but you better start keeping those thoughts to yourself. Got it?”

Max nodded in embarrassment, her cheeks flushing to a bright red color, visible even though night was falling and it was quickly getting darker. Victoria popped out her phone and glanced down at it. Max took a few deep breaths to attempt to compose herself, but she couldn’t help but notice that Victoria’s demeanor had softened a little. Sure, her words were as vicious as ever, possibly even more so, but she looked as though she was more comfortable. Victoria spoke up to break the silence, “It’s late. We gotta get back to campus. Get in my car. I’ll drive you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter might be a bit. I am not sure how long, but I probably can't get it up Sunday unless I have a really big burst of inspiration. I have been finding it hard to come up with how I want to write my ideas and I don't want to force things, but it at time feels like I am forcing things. I've scrapped several versions of this chapter before I finished it. But, my editor does have internet while they're in North Carolina, so expect the next chapter to not feel as rushed because I am gonna send it to them first unlike this one.
> 
> Also, my work schedule is constantly varying and I have no idea what days I am off until that week actually happens, which isn't fun. I'm trying to find free time to write this, but there has been a lot of stress in my life lately, so I do apologize if that is affecting the writing. But I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Ta-ta for now!


	5. The Drive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I apologize for the long delay on getting this chapter out! I swear I am not abandoning the story! It was a combination of Jinxx913 not getting back to me about the chapter (she hadn't read it till literally today), a massive bout with depression, and various other things. I am going to try to have more updates out in a much more timely manner. Thank you so much for sticking with me though and waiting this long!

The drive was deadly silent. Neither girl had much of an inclination to talk to the other and it showed. Max sat there, flipping between looking at the road and looking at Victoria. She couldn’t get a firm read on her. There was something there that was just eating away at her, and Max had to know, but she couldn’t for the life of her figure out what it is. So she stayed silent, her driving companion laser focused on the road, never once shifting her gaze Max’s way.

The quiet was almost deafening. Max looked for any distraction possible to ignore it and saw silhouettes of rows of trees lining the road around them through the window of the car. _This isn’t the route the bus takes_ , Max quietly thought to herself as she continued to take in her surroundings. The metallic smell of blood filled her nose and she rushed to grab her camera bag. She quickly found her tissues and held one up to her nose. After about a minute, she went to fold over the tissue and noticed something strange. There was no blood on her tissue. _That’s not possible… My nose was bleeding… I swear,_ her head was a flurry as she looked completely scared and perplexed.

“You can cut the Deer in the Headlights mortified look, Caulfield,” Victoria’s voice broke the silence, scaring Max into reality. Victoria hadn’t even looked away from the road.

“Sorry,” Max said timidly, not sure what else to say.

“Talk. Something happened. I need to know.”

“My nose felt like it was bleeding and…” Max began to explain before she was cut off by Victoria, “No blood?” Max nodded, not sure what else she had to say. She wanted to say so many things, but none of them fit. Not now at least. Max kept silent, contemplating the world around her. It wasn’t like Max was afraid to talk to Victoria. She just didn’t know how. Victoria shut her down at every given opportunity. Max sighed to herself, when she noticed something.

“Why aren’t we headed toward the school?,” Max interrogated Victoria, extremely suspicious all the sudden.

“We are, don’t get your hipster panties in a bunch,” Victoria replied back to her, confidence streaming from her voice.

Max looked outside the windows, “Victoria, I don’t believe you. Where are we?”

“It’s the path I always go. Will you calm down Caulfield, just because it isn’t _your route_ doesn’t mean it isn’t a route that takes us there.”

“It looks like we’re in the middle of nowhere!” Max exclaimed, even though she knew her rebuttal was weak at best.

Victoria’s face quickly shifted to one of anger, the car getting slowly faster. “Listen you little whiny brat, I’m driving you to where we both need to be. Got it?”

“I don’t think you know where you’re going, Victoria,” Max challenged.

On that Victoria snapped, screaming at the top of her lungs staring directly at Max instead of the road, the car now up to 65 mph, “Listen here, you little wannabe pixie bitch. Not everything you say is correct. Not everything you do is right. I know where I’m going, now shut up and let me fucking drive!”

Max was staring directly at the road and trying to point Victoria’s attention to it. The words keep getting stuck in her throat, there was a cliff and a curve coming. After Victoria was done ranting, Max grabbed Victoria’s head and forced it back to the road, but it was too late. The turn was approaching too quickly and they were going far too fast to be able to make it.

Victoria slammed her foot on the brakes, trying to slow down, but it was no use. They were headed directly for the barricade that kept people from going off the cliff. Max tried to grab a hold of the steering wheel, but as she did that, Victoria attempted to make a sharp turn. It was to no avail, with the speed that they were going they just overturned, the car beginning to flip. Max felt like time was beginning to stop. She was panicking, but she knew what she had to do.

She held out her hand and focused her energy all her energy on rewinding. Soon, the car stopped overturning, and everything began to go backwards. Slowly at first, but progressively getting faster and faster. Max was pretty confident in her ability, but she could feel her head starting to scream at her. She just had to hold out till before she reacted. She knew that’s where she had to be.

The rewind stopped abruptly. Not by Max’s control but rather some unknown force. It was almost like her power knew when to stop her. She could smell the familiar metallic smell of blood. She reached for her bag and pulled out two tissues, which she used to plug her nose. On Victoria’s face was a look of worry and she quickly pulled the car over to the side of the road.

“What happened?,” Victoria asked nervously, eyes pointed directly at the road, not making a single attempt to make eye contact with Max.

“We overturned,” Max quietly replied, her tone sounding slightly more nasally due to the tissues blocking the bloodflow. “We had a verbal fight and we overturned. We were almost over the cliff.”

Victoria nodded her head, still looking directly forward, “Can you drive?”

Max sighed gently and shook her head, “No, I’m sorry.”

“Alright. I’m changing the route. Buckle up.”

And with that, the car started back up as Victoria turned around and headed in the opposite direction. Before too long, Max began to recognize the route. It was the same one that the buses took to get from the beaches to Blackwell. Victoria hadn’t said a single word the entire time. She looked dead ahead at the road, but it was a different look in her eyes this time. It wasn’t a look of focus, but rather, a look of fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much for the notes here. I am always wanting feedback and constructive criticism on the story! It would be absolutely lovely to hear from the people who are reading this and gauge how they think! Also suggestions and stuff are always welcome! I have a few ideas and I know where I am going with this I promise, but always nice to take in some new ideas and suggestions! That's really all I have to say about this chapter. Big stuff is coming! Ta-ta for now!


	6. The Classroom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And four months later, finally. I have finally gotten the chapter done. I have scraped and restarted this chapter at least two times and overcame a pretty serious writer's block to get this done, but there was no way in hell I wasn't finishing this chapter. I finally have it done, have a serious chunk of ideas and definitely want to keep writing on this fic.
> 
> I can thank the Love is Strange visual novel and, strangely enough, Ladykiller In a Bind (a very interesting visual novel that involves a lesbian posing as her twin brother during a cruise, and lots and lots of funny scenarios. Also lots of queer BDSM, which is fun. Well written queer BDSM too.), for bringing me out of my writing rut for this story. Expect a lot more one shots to pass the time between chapters, but hopefully, I will have a more consistent schedule for getting these chapters done.

After the near accident, Max and Victoria didn’t talk. Max couldn’t exactly explain what, but Victoria looked slightly frightened whenever she caught a glimpse of Max, whether it be a glance out of the corner of the eye or being caught staring. It wasn’t like Max didn’t want to talk to Victoria, she just didn’t know what to bring up. _It’s not every day you almost die in a car accident and have the chance to make sure it never happened. Especially not with somebody who can also manipulate time. And tell when you’ve done it._ Max sighed to herself as she shifted in her chair. Jefferson’s ramblings just weren’t grasping her today. She knew what he was talking about, but unlike she usually was, she just didn’t care all that much.

Her journal sat on the desk and she decided to absentmindedly draw something. _Anything to get my mind off of my meeting with Victoria,_ she thought to herself, her hand detached from her thoughts, drawing the body of a bunny in the corner of one of the empty pages of the journal. She looked up at Jefferson every now and then to avoid being the victim of one of his “pop questions” he has a horrible habit of springing on her, especially when she isn’t focused at all. Her mild attention seems to be enough to keep Jefferson assuaged, as he never once attempted to spring a question on her. Max’s focus shifted out of her head and back to the lecture. Sure, she wasn’t catching everything still, but it was enough. She knew Jefferson was talking about popular framing techniques in portraits, not exactly her specialty, but something she knew enough about.

Jefferson’s voice rang with a sudden pang of anger, “Victoria Chase, would you bring your head off the desk and tell the class why you are disrespecting them by sleeping in the middle of our lecture?” Max turned her head towards Victoria, almost shocked. Victoria typically hung on every single word out of Jefferson’s mouth. She wasn’t a teacher’s pet per say, but she definitely knew enough to throw her weight around and get good marks with little effort. Victoria’s head rose slowly, a look of exhaustion painted her face. _I’ve never seen her look this tired…_ Max thought to herself, a feeling of guilt filling her throat as she looked away, out of the window, at Kate, Rachel, anything to avoid looking at Victoria and facing the truth of the matter.

Max wanted to avoid admitting that she was exhausted too. Mentally and physically. She hadn’t slept very well since the meeting with Victoria. Since the accident. She and Victoria both knew they would be likely dead if Max hadn’t used her powers. Victoria was too distracted from driving, so she couldn’t have done a thing about it. _Super Max strikes again_ , Max thought to herself, eliciting a small chuckle at her own joke, mostly to relieve the tension in her own mind. Max glanced down at what she was drawing and smiled a bit. The bunny turned out really well, even if she wasn’t focused much on it. _Looks kinda like Kate’s bunny, I should draw a tea cup for it._ The thought quickly turned to action as she drew a tea cup sitting next to the bunny. Max looked at her drawing in approval and closed up her journal, glancing at the clock. _Almost time to get out of class, Max, nothing to worry about._

Jefferson must have caught Max’s glimpse and looked at the clock himself, “Well, I guess since class is winding down, now is the perfect time to cut the lecture for the day.” The class went dead silent with all eyes on him. Jefferson never cut his lectures short unless he had something planned to fill that space with. Jefferson smoothly continued, using the new found attention to his advantage, “But before we go, I must announce a project. You and your partner of my choosing will have to emulate the other’s photography style. That means that if I were to partner Kate and Stella, Kate would have to do a picture in Stella’s style and vice versa. Meet with me after class and I will tell you who your partner is.”

The bell rang, breaking everyone’s attention away from Jefferson, and everyone began to pack up their stuff. Max grabbed her journal, tossing it into her camera bag with the rest of her stuff. She looked over at Jefferson’s desk swarming with her classmates, eager to know who they were partnered with. Except one classmate, still with her head down on the desk. Max walked over to her and gently put her hand on the girl’s shoulder, “Hey, Victoria, the bell rang.” Max’s voice was gentle, but loud enough to be heard over the hustle and bustle of the class exiting. Rachel looked over at Max and grinned, mouthing “Good luck.”

Victoria’s head slowly rose from the desk, her eyes filled with this looming sadness and exhaustion. “Thanks, Caulfield. You can stop touching me now,” Victoria glanced at Max’s hand, still resting on her shoulder.

Max pulled her hand away, shyly fidgeting with the strap of her camera bag, “Sorry. Talk later possibly?”

Victoria nodded, her eyes still mostly avoiding Max’s as she collected her stuff, “See you around, Max.”

Max sighed and looked over at Jefferson’s desk. The swarm seemed to have mostly died down, so she made her way over to Jefferson. She felt kinda ill to her stomach, but she chalked that up to being nervous over who she might have as a partner. “Hey, Jefferson, I wanted to ask who my partner was for this project.”

Jefferson looked up at her then glanced back down at the list, “You’ll be working with Victoria.” Jefferson’s face broke into a wide grin as he continued, “Between us two, you two are the students I believe have the most potential in the photography world. Might as well have you bouncing ideas off each other rather than attempting to one up each other. Besides, this way you aren’t dragged down by someone who might not care as much as you.”

Max nodded her head, knowing he was right, but she couldn’t exactly say she was excited to work with Victoria. Ever since that day at the beach, Victoria had been distant from everyone. She looked vulnerable and scared. One might even ponder to say she looked lost. Max had no idea what to expect when it came to this project, but if she knew anything, it was the fact that they were being brought together for a reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyways, I'm kinda proud of this chapter and breaking out of my writer's slump! I'm so sorry for the long time between the chapter updates. I can't guarantee that they will be more regularly updated, but I definitely want a more consistent release schedule of updates. Thank you guys for being patient and lovely. Please leave any and all feedback you have, I really appreciate all of it. I promise, the gay and fluff in between the angst is coming soon, but I'm trying to make the build feel natural.
> 
> Ta-ta for now!


	7. The Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's like 11:45 pm where I live and I literally just finished this update. I wanted to kinda save it till tomorrow, but I really like the update, so I'm sharing it a bit early. I'm definitely hoping you guys enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Take it so early as a late celebration for reaching 100 kudos since I was on hiatus at that time!

Max sat on Rachel’s bed, much like she had many a time since coming to Blackwell. At this point, it was just daily tradition. Classes are over? Come to Rachel’s room. Chloe and her would be waiting with snacks and good conversation. Max relaxed against the wall, listening to Rachel go on about her plans for the weekend. It was relaxing listening to her talk. Her voice was like honey, sugary sweet. _No wonder Chloe gets hung up on every single word she says_ , Max silently quipped, _her voice is so pretty and nice to listen to_. Chloe started laughing right as the thought finished in Max’s head.

“Max, you realize you said that out loud, right?” A grin painted Rachel’s face as she teased Max. Max’s face was a bright red flush. She had absolutely no idea she said that out loud.

“Sorry, sometimes I just say what I’m thinking,” Max rubbed the back of her neck, slightly nervous, “everyone does that occasionally.”

Chloe smiled and cuddled up to Rachel, “She’s right though,” she smiled at Rachel, “That’s exactly why I love listening to you talk.”

 _Oh thank fuck, the heat’s off me again_ , Max thought to herself, trying to pay attention to the conversation, but her head kept getting dragged back to being paired with Victoria for the project. Jefferson knew that Victoria and her weren’t friends, not even in the least. They barely ever got along, so why did Jefferson think they could get along long enough to finish a project together. There was just a lot going on that Max didn’t understand.

“You got your thinking face on Max,” Rachel retorted gently, “What’s on your mind, oh ye of hipsterdom.”

Max let out a small chuckle, nervously biting her lip, “Who are you partnered with for the project?”

“Oh, of course, it had to be that.” Rachel said, a little sorrow gracing her voice, “I saw who you’re partnered with, good luck.”

Chloe looked at the two of them confused, “What project? Are you talking about Jeffershit?”

Max nodded her head, “Yeah. We have to ‘emulate our partner’s style’ for a project. With their help. And I got Victoria Chase.”

Chloe laughed, “Ouch. Jeffershit must really fucking hate you if he partnered you with the Queen Bitch.”

Rachel grabbed a stack of papers and rolled them up, smacking Chloe on the arm playfully, “Hey, play nice, Mark’s a great teacher. That being said, our little Max definitely got the short straw. I knew about the project and requested to be her partner for it, but I guess Victoria beat me to the punch.”

Max’s jaw dropped in shock. She knew Rachel always requested to work with Max for projects and typically Jefferson obliged. He knew Rachel and Max played off each other pretty well and definitely knew how to play to each other’s strengths. That’s part of why he always told Rachel about his projects beforehand. She brought out the best work in Max and vice versa. She definitely wondered why Victoria would ask to be her partner. _I guess we’ll find out in time_ , Max thought to herself, suddenly feeling lightheaded.

“Hey guys… I’m not feeling too well,” Max trailed off at the end, her speech slurred and broken. In her head, she heard a whisper. _Find me_ said the voice, then everything went black.

* * *

 

The hallway was barren. There was no trace of anyone living in the dorms, let alone being there. It was dark, the only light illuminating the path being the moonlight that came in from the windows. Max looked around disoriented. She had been in Rachel’s dorm only moments ago, and unless this was a really elaborate prank, there’s no way in hell the dorms could look this unused. Old. Broken down. Poorly maintained. All adjectives that could describe the dorms well in the current state. She called out, “Rachel, Chloe, if this is your idea, I swear to god…”

There was a hint of fear in her voice. Max looked behind her to see Rachel’s dorm door slightly open. She peeked inside the room and gasped. There was absolutely no sign of Rachel or Chloe being there. Period. It looked as if the room hadn’t been touched in ages. There was dust on every surface that could have dust and the thought of it all just freaked Max out. Max called out again, fear causing her voice to waiver and sound weak, “Guys if this is a prank, it’s super fucked up…”

She closed the door to Rachel’s room, taking a few steps back to try to assess the situation. Max was absolutely horrified and clueless, she had no idea what was happening. She glanced at the whiteboard, still hanging next to the door, looking for any clues. _Nothing…_ she thought to herself quietly, before suddenly, writing started appearing on the whiteboard. Max muffled her scream of shock and terror behind her hands, visibly shaking now. She brought out her phone to use as a flashlight, the hallway being too dark to read what was actually written, “Max help. Check my dorm. Dorm 221.”

 _That’s Victoria’s dorm_ , Max thought to herself, her stomach feeling extremely uneasy by the situation. How did the writing just appear on the whiteboard? Where the hell was she? What the fuck was going on? All these thoughts raced through her head as she made her way down to Victoria’s room. Her phone screen flickered a little, causing her to jump and shiver a little. Her skin was tingling from the anxiety and fear coursing through her body. She continued forward towards Victoria’s dorm, her pace a brisk walk, wanting to get out of this nightmare realm. She stopped outside of Victoria’s dorm, taking a glance at the whiteboard. “Save me,” was all that it read.

She opened the door, taking cautious steps into the room. Her heart was racing from the mix of adrenaline and fear. She ignored yet another shiver in her spine as she saw a girl sitting on the floor. She looked young, possibly around 6 or 7 years old. Her hair was short and blonde, much like Victoria’s, and she wore a sweater and jeans that were very similar to Victoria’s as well. She was curled into a ball and audibly crying. _I bet she’s just as afraid as me_ , Max pondered to herself.

She knelt down next to the girl, gently rubbing her back, “Hey, it’s okay. We’re gonna find a way out of this.”

The girl nodded her head but didn’t budge. Max felt her shivering underneath her hand, “It’s kinda cold, would you like my hoodie?”

The girl nodded again, and Max took her hoodie off, wrapping it around the girl. There was something about the girl that she couldn’t place exactly. Yes, she had a striking resemblance to Victoria, but there was something more. It was almost as she was growing up right before her eyes. While at the time she walked in, she’d have firmly placed her at the age of six, possibly seven, she easily looked ten to twelve now. “Victoria, is that you?”

The girl nodded her head, slowly progressing in age, finally becoming the Victoria that Max knew. She softly mumbled between sobs, “I can’t control them. I’m sorry I caused this. I don’t know how to control them yet.”

Max wrapped her arms around Victoria, not sure what else to do, “It’s okay. We’ll get out of this.” She closed her eyes and felt Victoria relax into her arms. “I know we will.”

* * *

 

Chloe whimpered, her voice full of fear, “Max, please get up. Please wake the fuck up…” She held Max close to her, Rachel keeping a watchful eye over the both of them.

“Chloe, I still think we should call for an ambulance,” Rachel said as calmly as she could, the worry bubbling up inside her, “I know you said this is normal for her, but she’s been out for an hour at least.”

Chloe nodded her head, “Fine, fuck it, toss me my phone.” She unwrapped one arm from around Max and turned enough to catch the phone. Rachel got up from her chair and gently placed the phone in Chloe’s hand, not exactly wanting to toss the phone when Chloe was still holding an unconscious Max. Chloe mumbled under her breath while unlocking the phone, “Come on Super Max, don’t abandon me now. Please.”

Max began to stir in Chloe’s arms and a look of shock ran across Chloe’s face. Chloe wrapped her arms around her best friend tightly and said as quietly and calmly as she could with all the happiness and excitement returned to her in an instant, “Max, hey, you’re okay. You’re okay. Please tell me you’re okay.”

Max opened her eyes slowly, the nightmare still looming in the back of her mind as she tried to get a hold of the situation. “Hey Chloe,” she said weakly, her strength completely drained from her. She eyed the blue haired girl holding her up and down, a bit confused and glanced up at Rachel with a confused look.

“She was worried. She was pretty much holding you the entire time you were out and begging you to get up,” Rachel said, eyeing the two of them. She had to admit, they would have made a cute couple if Max had stayed in town. But the past was the past and Chloe was hers. And nothing was going to change that.

Max nodded lazily and rolled onto her back, not feeling strong enough to sit up. Chloe let her go, but quickly grasped a hold of her hand, “Is there anything we can do? Do you need an ambulance?”

Max shook her head, opening her mouth to talk, her voice coming out dry and tired, “No, Chloe, I’m alright. But I’m staying here for the night.”

Both Rachel and Chloe nodded. Rachel got up from her chair and cleared off Chloe’s stuff from the couch, grabbing one of the many pillows that lined the bed that Chloe and her most of the time shared. It was a special agreement with David Madsen, Chloe gets to sleep over with Rachel and Rachel keeps Chloe out of David’s hair, mostly. It worked for both parties most of the time, though Joyce wasn’t exactly happy her daughter was rarely home. “There’s another blanket in the closet, Chloe, can you get that for her?” Rachel nodded to the closet.

Chloe popped up, a mild spring in her step, which amused Rachel to no end. Max laid back in the bed, staring at the ceiling. _That felt so real_ , Max reflected, _and, that little child, that was Victoria. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but something tells me that it isn’t good._ Max’s phone went off pulling her out of her thoughts.

Rachel perked up, her eyebrows raised in curiosity, “Wonder who that could be.” There was a playfully suggestive tone in her voice and Chloe rolled her eyes, “Oh don’t make me imagine our poor little Max with that bitch.”

Max grabbed her phone. _One unread message_. _Of course it didn’t say from who_. Max unlocked her phone and opened up the messages app. There was a message from Victoria that read “I’m sorry. I can’t control my powers. Help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean, I have to admit, when I first started writing this chapter, I was a little skeptical on how exactly it would fit. It felt a bit weird to write at the start, but the more I wrote, the more I really loved this chapter. There is some strange ideas that I definitely want to play around with a bit more that I brought up in this chapter. All in all, I'm really proud of this chapter.
> 
> That being said, if you have feedback, suggestions, or just want to talk about the story, please leave a comment! I really do appreciate every single one of you that takes the time to read this story. It means a lot to me. But anyways, ta-ta for now!


	8. The Agreement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After last chapter, I think we all needed something a bit more relaxed and playful with this update. So it is a bit more playful and lighter in tone than some of the rest of the fic. Plus I left the last chapter on a cliffhanger and my editor threatened to disembowel me if I didn't start working on the next update soon.
> 
> Also, I'm not confident enough to give people an actual update schedule, but I'm definitely thinking updates will be a bit more common. I'm trying to write a little bit each day, whether it be a one shot idea that I have or continuing this and right now, all of my ideas are towards Running to the Sea. I have a good sense of where I want this to go and I have so many fun ideas planned.

Despite the fact that Max could barely stand, she made her way down the hall to Victoria’s dorm, leaning against the wall the whole time. The text seemed urgent and after the nightmare, she wasn’t going to keep Victoria waiting. There was this little nagging feeling in the back of her mind that Victoria knew about the dream, but she didn’t question it in her text. She had replied “ _Be right there,_ ” despite the protests from Chloe, Rachel, and herself. She reached the door to dorm 221 and glanced at the whiteboard.

“ _Victoria Chase_ ” it read in very ornate handwriting. Unlike most of the other whiteboards in the hall, this one was untouched. There was no little drawings around the name, or parts of it erased. It was pristine and well maintained, probably redone every few days by Victoria to make sure that it looked as perfect as could be. Max felt a little intimidated standing at the girl’s door. It’s not like every day you got the chance to impress the top of the social food chain with your knowledge on anything. Let alone be the person she calls in the middle of a panic.

She knocked gently on the door, her arm falling limp to her side. A voice called out weakly from inside the room, “If this is you, Caulfield, just come in.” Max obliged and slowly opened the door, still feeling pretty weak, but regaining a bit of her strength. She entered the room slowly and cautiously. “Victoria?” she said softly, looking around the room nervously. Her eyes adjusted to the lack of light in the room quickly and she found Victoria laying on her bed, her face incredibly pale. She looked really weak, much like Max felt.

Max made her way to the foot of Victoria’s bed, “Is it okay if I sit here?” Victoria nodded her head, sitting up a little in bed. She stared daggers at Max, and Max was very quick to avert her gaze, trying to find anything interesting in Victoria’s room to latch onto. Her room was incredibly tidy and well kept, fairy lights lining her posters on the wall beside her bed. There was a quite large white couch next to the bed, which looked surprisingly clean and tidy. _Wow, I’m impressed. Not a cushion out of line_ , Max thought to herself, eyeing it over. Victoria’s stare was still burning in the back of her neck.

“Caulfield, you’ll have more time to be noisy about my shit later, we need to talk,” Victoria’s voice broke the silence, sounding weaker and more timid than usual.

Max moved her glance back to Victoria, whose back was propped against a wall so she could sit up, “Yeah, we probably do.” She was nervous. It’s not every day that the top tier socialite of the school invites someone to her room, unless it were Taylor and Courtney. And even then, it wasn’t a given.

“I fucked up somewhere,” Victoria finally broke her stare from Max as she spoke, looking at the posters next to her bed, “I was just trying to fix a mistake with Taylor and then time just wouldn’t stop.” She looked to be on the edge of tears as she continued, “I couldn’t stop it and my head was screaming in pain and everything felt like it was unravelling and I couldn’t do a fucking thing.” Her tone turned to that of anger as the sentence progressed, her hands balled into fists. She took a deep breath before she continued, unclenching her fists, “Then I passed out. And I was in my room. And it was dark. I felt like a child, learning how to cope with this new ability and none of it made sense to me. It still doesn’t.” Her eyes were telling her story for her, a look of sorrow and fear written across them. “Then you walked in, and you helped. You showed compassion and care for someone who has never been nice to you in her life. Why?”

The question hit Max like a ton of bricks. She didn’t exactly know how to reply. She thought back to the nightmare, just comforting Victoria while she was scared and crying. She hadn’t thought much of it. She assumed it was just a dream. _She couldn’t have had the same dream as me… could she?_   Max asked herself, confused by the entire situation. “Victoria, how do you know what happened in my dream?” Max questioned, her voice quivering a bit, afraid of the answer. Sure, she showed a whole different side to the dream that she never saw, but it was still clearly the nightmare she had.

Victoria looked back at Max, her gaze a lot gentler now, if only for a second. Her eyes looked to be pleading for comfort, but it faded quickly, her sharp demeanor and glance returning to her face, “Maxine, humor me a bit. Please. I clearly know what happened, so humor me.”

Max recoiled a bit. She absolutely hated being called Maxine and always had, but this time it felt… nice, for lack of a better word. Sure it was quite formal, but Victoria was very gentle about it. Not exactly something that you could always say about Victoria, but she seemed comfortable almost. Strangely relaxed despite the fear of their shared nightmare. Max spoke up, her thoughts a bit of a flurry, “I comforted you because you looked scared. You looked insecure. But in the dream-“

Victoria cut her off, “Yes, I was a child. I’m aware of how it went. I was there too.”

Max nodded her head, “I wanted to at least provide some comfort for you. I don’t know what that was, and it scared me to death, but we both needed someone else there to help.”

Victoria’s glare soften, her facial expression still stoic and powerful, but her eyes telling a different story as the words left her mouth, “I requested you as a partner on Jefferson’s project so we could have time together to figure this whole mess out. This whole time manipulation thing. If that’s cool with you.”

Max looked at Victoria with a look of shock across her face, “It’s nice to know I’m not the only one struggling with this. Yeah, it’s definitely cool with me.”

Victoria glanced at her phone, checking something, “According to this, we have two weeks till the project is due. That means two weeks that you and I have to figure this fucking thing out until people question why I’m hanging with a geek like you. Do you think that’s enough time?”

Max rubbed the back of her neck, her nerves catching up to her, “We’ll make it work, Victoria. Don’t worry.” Max felt a bit deflated. She thought that she was seeing a gentler side of Victoria, but apparently her social status mattered more than a good grade or trying to figure out what is happening.

“Two weeks. I guess we better get started,” Victoria said, matter-of-factly. Her voice was strong and commanding, but her body language read differently. It showed someone who seemed content, almost joyful, that Max was here with her. _No way, there’s no way she’s happy I’m here_ , Max doubted this weird gut feeling and chalked the comfort Victoria showed to the girl being in her room.

Max let out a gentle smile and gestured to Victoria’s computer, “Let’s.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, definitely a lot lighter than last chapter, and intentionally so. I wanted to write something a bit lighter this time after my last chapter legitimately made me sick to my stomach writing it. I don't handle horror very well, if you can't tell. I'm really enjoying writing again, especially this story, which is becoming my little project that I genuinely want to finish. I'm not setting a cap to chapters yet, but I'm estimating that it may be a while till I truly feel like this will reach a point where I can say, yeah, this is done.
> 
> But anyways, enough of my rambling. I really hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm definitely hoping for another update within the next seven days. No promises, but that is my goal. Definitely leave suggestions or critiques or any of that down in the comments for me, all of that stuff is super helpful. Ta-ta for now!


	9. The Wake Up Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while. I figured I needed to update this story. I'm still working on it guys, cross my heart. Sorry it's been so long.

Max stirred in the bed, not quite awake but not exactly asleep either. More like that weird middle ground, where she was conscious of the world around her but she was still dreaming. The night had been pretty hectic, showing Victoria some of the research that she had already done on her own and bouncing ideas off each other for photo shoots almost simultaneously. It’s almost like Victoria was testing her, bouncing from one topic to the other, typically without warning. It wasn’t fun but Max got through it without too much of a hassle. The night must have been really busy because she didn’t remember going to bed or even falling asleep.

Max opened her eyes slowly, allowing herself to adjust to the light that was coming in through the window. It wasn’t usual that her alarm didn’t go off to wake her up. Even on the weekends, she has her alarm set, needing the routine for both comfort and her own health and sanity. She blinked slowly once or twice, her vision foggy from the sleep. _Hold the phone,_ she thought to herself as she glanced around the room, _this isn’t my room…_ Max jolted up, much to the chagrin of her sleeping partner in bed.

Max looked down at herself, a feeling of embarrassment washing over her. _Did I fucking sleep with Victoria Chase,_ her thoughts were a whirlwind, not slowing down for a second to realize she was still fully clothed. She got up from the bed and looked around the room for her phone to no avail. It wasn’t on Victoria’s desk, it wasn’t in Max’s camera bag, it wasn’t any of the usual places that she’d leave her phone. Victoria started to stir in the bed, her eyes still closed, her voice dripping with sleepiness, “Caulfield, could you not be so loud?”

Max’s face flushed bright red, the voice startling her, pulling her out of her search for her phone. “Do you know where I left my phone?,” her voice came out softer than she expected and sounding slightly nervous.

“I plugged it in over by my dresser,” Victoria vaguely waved her hand in the direction of the dresser and yawned, “You fell asleep on the couch last night.”

Max nodded her head, not really listening to what Victoria was saying, just trying to find her phone, “Yeah?”

Victoria giggled quietly to herself, figuring out she was being ignored, “On top of the dresser. Also pay attention for once. Your phone’s been blowing up for the past hour.”

Max heard the buzzing against the dresser and felt her face flush even more, grabbing it off of the charger. _10:51 am?? Holy shit Max,_ Max felt her face drop. She overslept, and quite a bit. No wonder her phone was blowing up. Chloe and Rachel were probably worried as fuck. She started tapping away at her phone, texts coming in almost as quickly as they were sent out. Victoria’s face was one of disappointment. “Maxine, could you put the phone down for like five seconds?,” her voice was scathing.

“Huh,” Max replied with little thought behind her words, still texting Chloe and Rachel.

“Maxine, phone down. For like two fucking seconds please,” Victoria’s voice was raised, her tone like daggers as Max looked back at her, placing her phone in her pocket. “Finally. Thank you. You fell asleep on the couch last night, literally in the middle of us just chatting. Are you alright?”

Max nodded her head, not really remembering much of it, so much of last night a blur to her. “I probably just overworked myself. It’s fine.”

Victoria looked at her, a hint of worry in her eyes, remembering how happy last night made her. She didn’t know what it was, but she was drawn to Max. Maybe it was the attitude that she had. How cool she was without even trying, even if she was a little weird. Her instincts initially leaned towards jealousy but now, well… _Hell, I don’t even know what I want anymore_ , Victoria mused to herself, _Why am I worried about this twee little hipster bitch who cares more about her phone than me?_

“Victoria?,” the look on Max’s face was one of more than mild confusion.

“Yeah?”

“What’s up?,” Max asked. Her freckles stood out in the sunlight and Victoria caught herself getting distracted counting them one by one instead of answering the question. Max shifted a little bit and stood up, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Why’d you move me to your bed if I fell asleep on the couch?”

Victoria blushed, the question catching her off guard a little. _Why did I move her to my bed last night? She would have been fine on the couch. She seemed comfortable._ “You looked uncomfortable and the couch isn’t the best thing to sleep on. I thought you might prefer being in a bed,” Victoria lied, her poker face not holding up very well.

Max didn’t question though. She just nodded her head and gathered up her stuff. Heading toward the door, Max looked back as she was half way out the door, giggling a little, “Hey Vic, next time you wanna lie, perhaps don’t think out loud.” Victoria’s face flushed with embarrassment as Max closed the door and made her way to her room. _Holy shit, I think Victoria fucking Chase likes me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact for you all: I wrote this chapter while listening to Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works 85-92. I typically don't write to music. I probably won't write to music again lmao. Anyways, Ta-ta for now!!


	10. The Lighthouse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may be the longest chapter I have written for this story. I hope you guys enjoy!!

“ _Hey, we were supposed to go to your spot today, right?”_ Max’s phone buzzed with the notification from Victoria. She was studying up on some science homework when the notification came in, the notification sound temporarily interrupting the soothing sounds of Sufjan Stevens’ _Fourth of July_ coming through her speakers. Max sighed, knowing she had to reply, but she was worried. It wasn’t her that would be taking the picture: It would be Victoria, emulating her style as closely as possible. That was enough to put her nerves on high, but she also loaned Victoria quite a few of her photos so that Victoria could study her style closely and figure out how to emulate it. She expected a full critique of all of her photos on the drive to the spot.

“ _You don’t happen to know where the lighthouse is? The one that overlooks the beach, on the cliff._ ” She texted back, biting her lip with nervousness.

“ _I’m not familiar, but if you lead me there, it sounds like a spot I could work with._ ” Victoria’s reply came through almost too quickly. Max sighed softly. _Even when she’s agreeing with me, she can’t turn off her pretentiousness,_ she brooded to herself.

“ _I’m ready to go if you are._ ” Max threw her camera bag over her shoulder as she closed her computer and turned off her speaker. Not even ten seconds later, there was a quiet knock at the door. Max made her way over to the door, opening it up to see Victoria standing there, camera bag on her side, wearing a cute maroon sweater, her hair very neatly kept and… _Is she wearing makeup? We’re just going out to take pictures_. Victoria’s stance shifted awkwardly under Max’s stare as she looked in any other direction than Max’s, “Are we gonna go or are you just gonna keep staring at me like a creep, Caulfield?”

Max felt her face flush up a little as she broke her gaze, “Sorry, you look good.”

Victoria nodded her head and… _Wait, is she blushing?_   Max thought to herself, a bit distracted as Victoria replied to her, “Thanks Max. Now where’s this lighthouse you were talking about?”

“Huh?,” Max replied sheepishly, a little embarrassed to admit that she wasn’t listening.

“The lighthouse, Max. Where is it?” Victoria replied, her tone surprisingly relaxed and calm, her demeanor gentler than usual. _It’s probably because she doesn’t want to intimidate me or something_ , Max made excuses in her head as she tried to remember the best route to get there.

“Just past the beach. You drive and I direct?” Max grinned as Victoria let out an audible groan.

“Fine. Just make sure we don’t crash again.” Victoria quipped as she lead the way, Max following behind her. Max didn’t know why, but Victoria’s jabs weren’t quite as punchy as usual. It’s almost like she took her foot of the gas, metaphorically speaking. The girls passed by Rachel’s dorm to audible laughter coming from inside, causing a slight smile to grace Max’s face. _Even when she was down, Rachel saved my best friend_ , Max thought to herself, deep in her thoughts as she followed behind Victoria. A text notification broke her out of her daze. _It’s from Rachel. It can probably wait_. She placed her phone back into the pocket as they exited the dorm.

The walk to where Victoria parked her car was excruciatingly quiet. Neither Max nor Victoria really spoke up, and besides the sound of feet on the concrete and the sounds of nature, there was nothing else to hear. Max rubbed the back of her neck gently, a knot in it from stress and nervousness causing her a little pain. Victoria looked over, a small grin on her face, “You can’t turn it off, can you?”

“Turn what off?” Max’s face twisted to one of confusion, not sure what the girl was implying by that.

“That waif hipster bullshit you call a personality,” Victoria said a bit too playfully.

_Ouch_ , Max felt her face fall even more. _I guess the façade’s off and the old Victoria’s back_. Victoria glanced over at Max, the grin dropping from her face, momentarily replaced by a look of worry that her partner never saw. They got to the car shortly after the exchange, neither one looking at each other as Victoria opened the locks with the remote. Max opened up her door and slid into the passenger seat, placing her bag at her feet, looking dead ahead. Victoria climbed into the driver’s seat, shooting a glance at Max before she started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

The drive was nearly silent besides Max telling Victoria where to go. Victoria’s eyes were fixed on the road, not even glancing in any other direction unless she needed to. Max felt her skin crawling at the silence. It was a worrying silence. There wasn’t even the sound of the radio to distract from it. They just sat there, engulfed by the flames of the silence. Victoria glances over at Max, a worried look in her eyes, but Max never saw it. She was too busy writing in her journal, completely unaware of her surroundings. There was a turn off to the left up ahead and Victoria piped up, “Is this the place Max?”

Max looked up from her journal, nodding at first, but then realizing that does no good when Victoria is driving, “Yeah. Once you park I’ll show you where I was thinking of.”

Victoria nodded her head, indicating her turn and slowing down, turning into the gravel and dirt path. The path was bumpy and the sound of the occasional rock hitting the underside of the car reverberated all throughout the cabin, Victoria wincing at every one. _Where should I take her?_   Max mused to herself, focusing on everything surrounding them. The leaves were just starting to turn color. Autumn was setting in slowly, which meant the start of the rainy season of course. _Every Seattleites worst nightmare, the neverending rain_ , Max chuckled to herself as she unbuckled her seatbelt. Victoria had finished parking, but was still staring dead ahead, almost like a robot. It was disturbing and off putting to say the least.

Max slipped out of the car to look around, trying to find the perfect spot on a beautiful day. It wasn’t often you got days like this near autumn. Between the rain and the clouds, every day hung with this mild feeling of depression, but the sky was as clear as ever. Barely a cloud hung in the sky as the sun beat down on the earth, soaking it in its warmth. _The trees are gorgeous, I bet we could get some really sick shots of the forest surrounding the lighthouse_ , Max drew her camera up to her face, trying to frame a perfect shot of the bench and lighthouse surrounded by the trees before a hand gently pushed her camera down. Victoria was standing next to her, looking as stoic as ever, not even turning to look at Max as she spoke, “Remember, this is my photo shoot. Your style but my shoot. Take your pictures afterwards.”

Max nodded her head solemnly as she glanced at Victoria. There was something not right with Victoria. While she looked as strong as ever, Max couldn’t shake this feeling that Victoria was nervous. Perhaps she was even worried. It didn’t tell on her face, but her posture was more open than it usually is. Victoria almost looked inviting to talk to. Like she could have a conversation with her about anything and everything. It was a side to Victoria than Max hadn’t even been aware existing up until this point. _Come on, Max, get it together,_ she thought to herself before leading Victoria up the path towards the lighthouse.

“What camera are you going to be using? Mine or yours?” Max asked her partner as they climbed the small hill.

“Mine, I’ll use Photoshop or something to mimic the style of a Polaroid,” Victoria replied quieter than usual, seeming to be in her thoughts mostly, “But that means we will both have to take the same shot, just so I can have a reference point.”

Max nodded her head as they got to the top of the hill. She looked around, trying to find what would be the perfect shot before she heard the unzipping of Victoria’s camera bag, very slowly as she pulled out her camera motioning for Max to stand behind her. “There’s a sparrow perched on the bench over there. If we take the shot from here, we will get the backdrop of the cliff,” Victoria whispered quietly to Max as she stood behind her, “You take your shot first, trying to be as quiet as possible to not scare it. I will take my shot after.”

Max giggled to herself quietly. She never thought of Victoria to be the birdwatching type, especially not the type to be able to recognize a specific bird from this far away. The bird must have been startled by the giggling as it flew away not too long after. “God dammit Max, that was so a you shoot. Why the hell did you laugh?” Victoria sounded audibly frustrated with Max as she looked back at the girl.

Max rubbed the back of her neck in nervousness, “I didn’t think the bird would fly away, sorry.”

Victoria thought for a second before looking at Max, “Can you rewind till the bird is back on the bench? Make sure you don’t go past me having my camera out and ready.”

Max nodded her head, closing her eyes and focusing all of her energy on rewinding, stretching her arm out as she did. As she opened her eyes, she saw the world going in reverse, slowly at first, but progressively speeding up. She saw the bird return to the bench and stood behind Victoria, bringing her arm down, the rewind stopping. She knelt down next to Victoria softly saying, “I’m about to take my shot. Stay silent.”

Max drew her camera up to her face, the viewfinder readied and the flash turned off as it was a sunny day. She stared down the viewfinder, trying to steady it but having difficulty. It just kept moving even when she was certain it was perfectly still. Her head felt like it was swimming, but she had to take this shot now. She held her breath in and took the shot, the sound of the developing film startling the bird, causing it to fly away again. She looked down at the photo and smiled. It turned out much better than she expected it to.

“What the hell was that, Caulfield? I know I need a reference pic, but your camera couldn’t have been any quieter?” Victoria scolded her partner as she looked on at the now empty bench in frustration.

“Just wait, Victoria.” Max replied calmly. She put all of her focus into rewinding again, holding her hand up as best she could. Her energy was already slightly drained from her last rewind and it was showing. She was dizzy and disoriented, barely able to stand on her own two feet. She waited until the bird was back on the bench before putting her arm down, trying desperately to stay standing and not make too much noise. She checked the print in her hand, praying that it was still good. _Okay good. The photo’s still there._ She slowly went down to one knee and whispered to Victoria, “Take your shot, please.”

Victoria nodded her head, bringing her camera up to her face, looking down the viewfinder, trying to set it perfect. _CLICK!!_   The shutter sounded, causing the bird to fly away again as Victoria checked the photo on the LCD screen. _That’ll do. Not too bad_ , Victoria thought to herself, an extreme headache starting to set in as she put her camera back into her bag. “How many times did you need to- MAX!” Victoria exclaimed as she looked at her partner, lying on the ground, blood dripping from her nose. Victoria rushed to her purse, pulling out some tissues before using it to learn the girl’s head up.

Max started to stir a little, her eyes looking glassy and empty. She stared straight ahead, blinking a few times before attempting to sit up with Victoria’s help. “I don’t know what happened…” Max said quietly and looked down, her nosebleed finally starting to slow.

“It’s okay Max, you’re gonna be okay,” Victoria stated, less to Max and more to herself. She had been out for a good solid 5 to 10 minutes with no response whatsoever. Victoria pulled the tissues away from Max’s nose, checking to see how bad her nosebleed was. _Okay, it seems to be finished._ Victoria held out a hand for Max, pulling her up and wrapping an arm of Max’s over her shoulder. She was blushing a little bit, just at the closeness to Max at this very moment. It was scary but also, mildly intimate. Victoria shook her head of the thoughts, opening Max’s door and sliding her into the car, reclining her seat slightly.

“You rest Max, I know the way home by now. I’m going to get you home safe.” Victoria said as she buckled Max into her seat. Max nodded her head, but provided no other response as Victoria closed the door, making her way to the driver’s side. _I’m going to have to acknowledge my feelings for her, aren’t I_ , the thought kept creeping up in the back of Victoria’s head as she climbed into her car and looked at the exhausted girl in her passenger’s seat. The urge to try to comfort Max was too tempting as Victoria slid her hand into Max’s, gently giving it a squeeze with their fingers intertwined. And despite the exhaustion that burrowed deep within her, Max’s face was painted with a faint smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update came way sooner than I expected. I am going to be trying to more consistently update this and trying to not go three to four months between updates like I have before. All of that said, chances are there will be longer periods between updates as I am trying to write longer and more meaningful chapters to this story and not just spewing out little short chapters that mean nothing. Also, I have to thank Love Live! School Idol Project for pulling me out of my writing rut, somehow. Reading way too much Nozoeli fanfiction and looking at too much Nozoeli fanart after finishing that show really brought me out of it. Expect the next thing I write to probably be Nozoeli and not Maximum Victory. It may be a one shot or another large multi-chapter story. I'm not sure yet. 
> 
> Anyways, thank you all for reading!! Ta-ta for now!


	11. The Dream Come True

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead! But wow, it's been a freaking long time since I updated. So long that two separate Life is Strange games got announced in the time it took me to actually publish an update. I do apologize about that. My personal life is...not going great, but I hope to stay updated more than once every four months.

A gentle knock at Max’s door woke her from her sleep, so gentle that she had thought it was just her imagination and rolled over in her bed, trying to head back to sleep. About thirty seconds later, another knock came from the door, this time slightly louder, but still fairly quiet. Max groaned and rolled out of bed, flicking on her bedside lamp. She grabbed her phone off the nightstand, trying to figure out what time it could possibly be. It had to be early because she still felt exhausted. _2:52 am_ read the clock on her phone. _Only Rachel would wake her up this late_ , Max thought to herself as she tried to shake the sleep from her eyes, _and that’s only if Chloe and her were fighting. I better go answer the door._ Another small knock came from the door as she finally replied softly, “I’m coming, but this better be important, Rach.”

Max opened the door slowly from exhaustion and let out a soft gasp at the sight that was in front of her: Victoria, dressed in her pajamas, holding a small stuffed teddy bear that looked eerily similar to the one Max had. Victoria shifted her position awkwardly as she began to speak, “Sorry to wake you Max, I was just… uh… I was just having nightmares and Courtney and Taylor weren’t waking up.”

Max nodded her head and gestured for Victoria to come in, not sure what else to do. Victoria walked by the girl, but she looked way more nervous than she usually did. _It’s not like Victoria to come off as timid, let alone admitting that something was wrong_ , Max thought to herself as she walked back to her bed, Victoria sitting across from her on the couch, messing with the hair on her stuffed bear. Max bit her lip nervously, just kinda glancing at Victoria every now and then, noticing she didn’t even look like she was trying to sleep. Max chimed up, “Do you need anything? Water? A blanket? I have a few extra if you-”

Victoria cut her off mid-sentence, her voice soft and vulnerable, “A blanket would be nice. I didn’t mean to barge in or wake you up. I’m sorry.”

Max nodded her head and quietly got up, grabbing a blanket from her closet. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing at all. This wasn’t the Victoria she knew. The Victoria she knew was confident in herself and her actions and wouldn’t apologize unless it was absolutely necessary. To say it was throwing Max through a loop was an understatement. She handed the blanket to Victoria and softly smiled a very nervous smile. She couldn’t tell if Victoria was just playing mind games or what was going on, but Victoria’s hand lingered around Max’s as she took the blanket. Her hands were cold against Max’s skin and Max shivered out of sheer shock of how cold the girl was. Victoria let out a soft giggle and replied, “Sorry, didn’t realize how cold I was.”

Max fidgeted with the end of her tee shirt, not looking up at Victoria as she replied, “No no, it’s chill.”

Victoria stifled a small giggle as she glanced at Max, taking in her nervousness, “You meant to say ‘no pun intended’, right?”

Max looked up with a questioning look on her face, “What do you mean, ‘no pun intended’?”

Victoria tried to keep as straight a face as she possibly could, the humor of the situation wearing down on her poker face, “You said ‘it’s chill’, like chilly. Like being cold, like I am.”

Max let out a soft chuckle, “I didn’t even notice I said that, I’m so tired.”

Victoria got up from the couch, looking at Max a little less confidently now, the nervousness returning to her expression, “Hey, uh, weird question, but could I sleep in the bed?”

Max looked at Victoria with a confused face. _Why does she seem so nervous about asking that?_ She replied, “Yeah, lemme just grab my-”

“With you, Max. It’s big enough to fit two people,” Victoria’s voice quivered a little as she spoke.

_Oh, that’s why_ , Max thought to herself, looking at the blonde haired girl. Max stammered out, her own nerves getting the better of her, “Yeah, sure, lemme just… get in first, I guess?” Max slowly got into the bed, pulling her blanket over her, trying to leave enough space for Victoria to lie down.

Victoria chuckled to herself and softly said, “You’re kinda cute when you’re nervous.”

Max audibly gasped at what she just heard. _Did Victoria fucking Chase just call me cute? Me, of all people in the world. The anti-social hipster chick who just really likes taking photos? Why would she think I’m cute? Better yet, why am I so worried that she thinks I’m cute?_ Max’s head was racing as her thoughts enveloped her. Victoria slid into the bed and gently tapped Max on the shoulder, “I’m sorry, I thought it was okay to say something like that. I shouldn’t have-”

“No, no, it’s fine, it’s alright, just,” Max couldn’t find the words and they weren’t coming together in her head. She knew what she wanted to say, but it wasn’t coming to her. She couldn’t bring herself to say it. That’s until Victoria said it for her, “Max, I like you. I like you a lot. I think you’re really cute.”

Max blushed, the light from the bedside lamp glowing on her face, making the blush stand out even more. Victoria softly chuckled and said, “Even when you’re not even trying, you’re really cute. I just can’t help myself but to stare sometimes, even though I know it’s weird of me to do. I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, I just needed to get that off my chest.”

Max stared at the girl, unsure what to say, what to do. Is there even anything you can do when someone who you have a crush on confesses that they have a crush on you? _Wait, wait, that’s it, that’s why I’m so nervous. Oh my god, I have a crush on Victoria Chase_ , Max blushed even more at the thought of it. The thought of everything. Being this close to Victoria, it made her hyper aware of everything going on around her. How her skin was touching Victoria’s where her hand was lying outside the blanket. _Wait shit! I’m touching her, fuck, uh, I gotta do something!_ And like that, Max closed the distance between them, kissing Victoria. The kiss was gentle and nervous, but it made Max’s heart flutter like a thousand butterflies, floating in the wind. It was everything she could have wanted from a first kiss. Gentle, sweet, caring, and yet, it was awkward and nervous, but endearing. She wanted it to last forever. She wished it would last forever.

* * *

 

Max woke up to the sound of her alarm. Victoria was no longer in the bed with her, and there was no sign that Victoria had even been sleeping in the bed. _Huh, that’s a little strange_ , Max thought to herself as she slid the alarm off on her phone, stretching awkwardly as she did. The sunlight filtered into her room from the half closed blinds on her window. It was gorgeous to get up early and see the beauty of the sunrise and the colors that it would leave in her room, but Max was distracted. _I wonder when she left. She didn’t even wake me when she woke up._ Max sighed softly as she sat up in the bed, stretching again. She pushed the home button on her phone to check the time. _7:02 am_ , _okay good, I got up early like she had asked me to once we got back to the school. I wonder why she asked me to get up early._

Just then, Max’s phone went off. It was a text from Victoria. “ _You up yet, sleepyhead?_ ” The text was more playful than Victoria usually is, especially with her, but with their confessions last night, it made sense to Max. She grabbed her phone, typing out a quick reply, “ _Y_ _eah, I’m up! Just gotta get ready, why’d you ask me to get up so early?_ ” Max placed her phone back down as she searched her closet for clothes that she could wear today. _That’s weird, the blanket’s still in here, folded, like I hadn’t even pulled it out_ , she mused to herself as she grabbed an outfit. It was her usual, but it was what was most comfortable to her. She glanced at her phone as a text notification rang out. “ _We’re going to Seattle. It’s your turn._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That didn't take me four months to write. In fact, most of that was written recently. But the reason it's been so long since an update is I moved cross country! I'm now living with my editor who is also my girlfriend! And it's been really stressful for the past few months! So I do apologize about the late updates. Side note: I have a twitter now! It's @transmaxirl and you can go there to hear me gush about the various things I like (but mostly Love Live! and Life is Strange) as well as get updates to when I'm writing/send me furious tweets about how I was gone for so long.
> 
> Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed the chapter! Ta-ta for now!


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